Games You Rarely See Played "Correctly"

[Maxperson]

But if the majority, perhaps even the vast majority, are playing in a certain way, doesn't that mean that the creators were wrong in how they envisioned it? That they've messed up the math and balance points to make the game that the people are actually playing. Can we blame the players and call what they do "wrong" under those circumstances?

I think the creators can be wrong in how they envision their game, but that still doesn't make what the players do right if they do it differently. They still aren't playing the game as intended and envisioned by those designers. However, I don't think blame really comes into the situation unless the players then start complaining that the game doesn't work right if they play it the wrong way.

 

[Maxperson]

That's fair. I simply can't be bothered to have that many encounters per day because it's just so tedious. Given how long combat takes in D&D, knowing an encounter is there that is inconsequential other than knocking down a few resources drives me nuts.

That's why I went to the one week before you can long rest again. Then I can spread out encounters over that week(usually several sessions) so that they make sense and aren't tedious, and maintain the intended balance while doing so.

 

[nevin]

The vast majority of games. In a lot of ways it is the point of a IRL game.

So....

The Vampire, Werewolf and most other horror type games are played more 'soft horror', like disney horror or like Goosebumbs, where the player like the 'scary' horror(as they do).

Traveler played like Star Trek. Star Wars played like Star Trek.

And, of course, the vast majority of D&D games.............

we played a vampire/werewolf/mage/changeling game and those are supposed to be seperate worlds not one mushed up mess

 

[Maxperson]

I keep trying to win this game but I can't seem to get ahead.

The key is to just accept your lot.

 

[Kannik]

We're not talking about cyberpunk as a genre here, we're talking about a specific game.

When we played CP2020 (and CP2013), we never saw them as divorced from the genre, nor did we read it as the only thing important and the only thing the game wanted you to focus on was the style. We were in high school, I'm not going to claim that we were doing deep dives into the philosophy and implications of a corporate takeover of every aspect of the modern world. But on whatever level we were doing we were still engaging with it, not looking only for the shiny and making characters who would get mowed down in the first interaction, but spray our blood and collapse in a heap so artistically.

Especially as:

And as far as Style over Substance - you can have style and still be competent. Fancy chrome, all the kewl nutech out the latest Chromebook catalog, body mods - all can make you a bigger badass AND make an impression.

 

[SteveC]

Yes, well, it would have helped if the game was designed to be angsty personal horror. But, the game design is clearly superheroes with fangs - it is a game in which the supposed intent does not match the rules the players are given.

Back in the 90s, I was a young man who was trying to write. I ran into Mark at Gen Con and had a great discussion with him. He very much intended the game to be about personal horror. He genuinely seemed unhappy with how people were playing it in practice. I never played the game because of the "superheros with fangs" but I would have been interested in something introspective.

It wasn't until Mage that I found something in the World of Darkness I could enjoy.